Our weekly ‘Hot or Not’ series brings you some of the highs and lows in this week’s travel news headlines.
HOT, HOT, HOT!
1. Qantas flies the ‘Dream’ with pre-GFC profits
It was smiles all around for Qantas this week after revealing it had achieved its strongest profit since before the Global Financial Crisis.
The Flying Kangaroo revealed an Underlying Profit Before Tax of $975 million – just under the desired $1 billion mark.
Achieved during the 2014/15 financial year, the figure was a turnaround of $1.6 billion compared to the prior 12 months.
2. Relief for Aussie airport duty-free shoppers
Here’s a little relief for Aussie travellers, next time you’re purchasing a duty-free item at any Australian airport you can say ‘no’ when asked to present your boarding pass.
For years we’ve been travelling and buying under the assumption that in order to complete a duty-free transaction we were legally required to present our travel documentation to the teller.
So, feeling legally obliged, we’ve rummaged through our carry-on, pulled out our travel wallet, filtered through the paperwork just to present that single boarding pass.
3. The Force is coming to Disney
It’ll be the happiest place in the galaxy for Star Wars fans once Disney completes the construction of two Star Wars-themed lands in Anaheim and Orlando.
The parks will each cover 14 acres and be built to replicate various experiences from the hit sci-fi franchise.
Visitors will be able to walk through fully realised Star Wars worlds and interact with characters. They’ll also be able to fly the Millennium Falcon and have a drink at the cantina while experiencing a major battle.
NOT, NOT, NOT!
1. Bangkok bombing
Over 20 people were killed and another 120 people injured earlier this week in an explosion near a popular Buddhist shrine in central Bangkok.
The explosion occurred around 6.30pm in front of the Erawan shrine at the Ratchaprasong intersection – an area frequented by tourists and worshipers.
Early reports suggest international visitors may have been the target of the explosion, mostly due to its proximity to popular attractions such as the Siam Centre and Paragon malls.
Thailand’s Police Chief believes the attack may have planned at least one month in advance by around 10 people.
Early investigations suggest it was ‘unlikely’ to be the work of international terrorists.
2. Indonesian plane crashes
An Indonesian aircraft carrying 54 passengers crashed into mountains in the easternmost province of Papua.
The Trigana Air Service flight took off from Sentani airport in Jayapura, Indonesia on Sunday to Oksibil. The plane lost contact with ground control an hour and half into the flight.
Since, rescue teams have operated searches based on reports from locals who claims to have seen the aircraft crash into mountains.
Bintang Mountains Regency Police Chief Yunus Wally confirmed to media that debris was found near the Oksop waterfall and ground search teams were preparing to head to the area.
An official cause for the accident is still to be determined, however, initial findings suggests it was caused by bad weather.
3. So, this is kind of creepy
A female employee at a McDonald’s in Taiwan has become the object of sexualisation among thousands of males who have dubbed her the ‘McDonald’s Goddess’.
According to media reports, guys from around the country travel to her McDonald’s branch just to see if she’s working and some even film her while she carries out her take out tasks.
Can anyone say creepy?
While some would be disturbed by the attention, we have to praise Wei Han Xu, or Wei Wei who is using the fame to kick start her modelling career.
Her looks have made her so famous, she now has 86,000 follows on Facebook and 32,000 on Instagram. She’s even received an offer for her own talk show.